Core condundrum: basic setup, challenging exercise.

November 22nd, 2010

Being friends with a trainer is always beneficial and frustrating. He throws out these seemingly simple exercises that end up kicking my butt. But! He will be the first to tell you that I’m the one who keeps him going in our workouts.

Here is our ab exercise today – Straight leg crunches.

15 reps per position.

IT’S CRUCIAL YOU KEEP YOUR CORE ENGAGED AND BACK FLAT ON THE FLOOR.

Position 1: Legs straight up, feet flexed.

Position 2: Legs 45-60 degrees

Position 3: Legs as low as they go keeping your back flat.

As you can see, 45 degrees is as low as I can go. My lower back is my Achilles’ heel, so my capabilities are handicapped in some exercises despite how “strong” I am.

My trainer in LA used to always have me do core BEFORE the workout. Brice believes core work should be done in moderation to keep your waistline slim.

My opinion: do what you think works for you. If you’re not adding weight and using planks/holds instead of repetitive crunches, you should build a strong core to support the workout you want to do. But I’m not an expert, that’s just my perspective.